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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Penn capped its 2012-13 heavyweight rowing season with a win in the Third Final of the Varsity Eight, claiming a 13th place overall finish out of 23 V8 crews at the IRA Regatta on Lake Natoma. That finish, coupled with a sixth place result from the Frosh Eight in the Grand Final, led to the most successful IRA Regatta under head coach Greg Myhr.

In its first Grand Final since 2006, the No. 7 seed Frosh Eight sat in fourth place after the opening 500m, ahead of No. 2 Harvard and No. 3 California. The Quakers were overtaken by both the Crimson and Golden Bears in the next 500 meters, and would go on to finish sixth – an improvement of nine spots from 2012.

In the Third Final, the Varsity Eight fell behind off the start, sitting fifth after the first 500m and 2.5 seconds off the lead. The second 500m was blistering for the Red and Blue, Penn’s V8 moving to the front with a split of 1:25.85 – the fastest of any team in any split of the race and nearly three seconds faster than Penn’s opening 500. The fast 500 opened a 1.1-second lead for the Quakers, and that advantage became 2.9 seconds after 1500m and Penn was almost 1.5 seconds faster than any team in the field in the third interval. Down the stretch, the Quakers made sure every stroke was sure and that their lead was protected, reaching the finish line in first place, ahead of charging Georgetown and George Washington crews.

The Second Varsity entered the weekend seeded No. 12 and rowed to that spot with a sixth place finish in the Petite Final. The Quakers were attacking off the start, crossing the first 500-meter mark in second place, 0.55 seconds behind leader Harvard. As the race crossed the halfway point, all six boats were 2.26 seconds, but Penn had slipped to fifth. The final 1000 meters saw Penn unable to keep up with No. 5 Harvard, No. 9 Cornell and the rest of the field for its sixth place finish.

Penn’s Varsity Four was fifth in the Petite Final, 2.322 seconds ahead of Syracuse. The Red and Blue were fourth in a tight pack after the opening 500m, just 0.77 seconds off the lead. By the midway point, the leaders had pulled away, and Penn was able to put time on the Orange the rest of the way.

In the Petite Final of the Open Fours, the Quakers were in second, 0.27 behind Wisconsin after the first 500m, and sat in that position at the midway point – just 0.32 ahead of Harvard. The Crimson caught up over the next 500m, and Syracuse was able to pass down the stretch, but the Red and Blue had put plenty of space between themselves and both Gonzaga and Holy Cross for a solid fourth place finish.